R.K. Narayan

1.1 When and where was he born?

He was born on 10 October 1906 in Madras. Madras is now called Chennai. His full name was Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayanaswami. He died on 13 May 2001, aged 94.

1.2 Why is he famous?

Many people call him India’s greatest writer in English in the 20th century. He wrote 15 novels and many short stories. Nearly all of his fiction is set in one imagined town, Malgudi.

1.3 How did he grow up?

His maternal grandmother raised him in Madras. The rest of his family lived in Mysore. He later studied there and graduated in 1930. He failed his university entrance exam twice before that.

2.1 What kind of place is Malgudi?

Malgudi is a fictional town in south India. It is not on any real map. Change comes slowly there, and a rural area lies close by.

2.2 How was Malgudi born?

In September 1930 he opened an exercise book and wrote his first line. The line was It was Monday morning. He then pictured a railway station, and its name seemed to leap into view. That name was Malgudi.

2.3 Is Malgudi really Mysore?

Many people think so. But Malgudi has neither the size nor the princely trappings of Mysore. Its people are Tamil. Narayan said it came from two real places. They are Lalgudi near Trichy and Mangudi near Kumbakonam.

3.1 Why was the first novel hard to publish?

His first novel was Swami and Friends. Publishers turned it down at first. It did not find a single one.

3.2 Who helped him?

A friend named Kittu Purna took the manuscript to the British writer Graham Greene. Narayan had told Purna to weight it with a stone and drown it in the Thames. Purna did not. Greene liked it and found a publisher.

3.3 What changed after that?

Hamish Hamilton published the book in 1935. Greene also suggested a shorter name. So Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayanaswami became R.K. Narayan. Greene stayed a lifelong friend.

4.1 Which books should I remember?

Read the table, oldest first.

Years as given by the sources listed under the cards.

4.2 Which three are called his best?

The Financial Expert, The Guide and The Man-Eater of Malgudi are held to be the peak of his art. The Financial Expert was dedicated to Kittu Purna, the friend who took the first manuscript to Greene.

4.3 What else did he write?

He wrote essays, travel books and retold epics. His retellings include the Ramayana (1972) and the Mahabharata (1978). His travel journal My Dateless Diary came out in 1964. Grandmother’s Tale is his only novel not set in Malgudi.

5.1 Whom did he marry?

He chose his own bride, Rajam, and married her in 1934. Their daughter Hema was born two years later.

5.2 What happened in 1939?

Rajam died of typhoid in 1939. This was the hardest blow of his life. He wrote about that grief in The English Teacher (1945). He did not marry again and raised his daughter with help from his joint family.

5.3 Who was R.K. Laxman?

R.K. Laxman was his youngest brother. Laxman became a famous cartoonist. Do not mix up the two brothers in a question. One was a novelist and the other a cartoonist.

6.1 How was it written?

In 1956 Narayan stopped in London on his way to the US. He met Greene there for the first time. He asked whether the hero should live or die. Within three months the book was finished.

6.2 Which award did it win?

The Guide won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1960. The Akademi’s English list begins with this book. It lists no English awards for 1955 to 1959.

6.3 Was it made into a film?

Yes. The novel was later filmed with Waheeda Rehman and Dev Anand. The film became a hit.

7.1 In what order did the honours come?

Read the table, oldest first.

From the Sahitya Akademi list, the Rajya Sabha list, the Padma notification and press reports.

7.2 What did he do in the Rajya Sabha?

The Rajya Sabha list shows him as a nominated member, 1986 to 1992. There he spoke up for children. He pointed out that school bags were far too heavy.

8.1 Which dates do students mix up?

Keep the key dates in one place.

Dates from the sources listed under the cards.

8.2 Which mistakes are common?

• Narayan is the older brother. R.K. Laxman is the cartoonist.
• Swami and Friends is 1935. The Guide is 1958 and its award is 1960.
• Padma Bhushan is 1964. Padma Vibhushan is 2000.
• Greene suggested the short name R.K. Narayan.
• Some books give other years for the Rajya Sabha term. The official list says 1986 to 1992.